Goodbye
by Radman
Summary: All good things must come to an end. When Shadow leaves to fight Mephiles, Rouge is left alone... and hurting.


**Goodbye**

_by Radman_

All good things must come to an end. When Shadow leaves to fight Mephiles, Rouge is left alone... and hurting.

_Author's Notes: _Partially inspired by Mystery001's "In The End". Not sure where I'm going with this one, may continue, or remain a oneshot. Tell me which one you think would be most appropriate. I can't think of a song for this fic. I'm sure Master Metallix will have an answer to my blatant lack of creativity. Once again, kudos to Myz. Finally, as always, I do not own the Sonic characters, blah blah blah, la de dah de dah.

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Rouge jolted awake to the sound of rain pattering on her window. A cold sweat had formed on her brow, and she panted lightly. Despite the blanket wrapped around her, she found herself shivering. With every crack of lightning, eerie shadows leapt from her window to writhe and dance on the floor.

The first thing the ivory huntress noticed was that it was nearly pitch black, which was strange; she always kept some lights on. Then, groaning and stretching her arms, she looked over and noticed that the other side of the bed was empty. Initially she thought nothing of it, assumed that the black hedgehog had simply got up to get a drink of water, or to use the bathroom. Soon, she began to get nervous.

He was her emotional anchor, her rock. So much so that she found that if she did not have his warm, powerful, downy chest to snuggle into, she had a great difficulty getting to sleep. She depended on him. The lightning and the darkness were beginning to make her uneasy, so she decided to just go and check on him. She was getting worried about Shadow, he'd been growing more distant lately, and no matter what she tried, he wouldn't tell her what was wrong.

Peeling back the covers, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, and once her feet were snugly in her slippers, she crept forward, careful not to bump into anything in the dark. The living room was as still as a tomb. Rouge tiptoed in, the silence was frightening and she dared not disturb it. She found that her throat was becoming incredibly dry, and she turned toward the fridge.

After she had quenched the raspy feeling in her throat, she called out quietly in the darkness.

"Shadow... Shadow are you there?" she whispered, and thunder roared in reply, scaring her and making her fall backwards and land on her rear. Lightning struck in the distance, flooding the living room with light. In the momentary illumination, she saw the shape of a hedgehog lurking quietly in the shadows.

"Shadow, is that you?" she pleaded as she stood up and stepped towards him. Shadow came forth from the darkness, and clasped one of Rouge's hands in his own. Her smile quickly faded when she saw the coldness of his eyes, and the frown on his lips.

"What's wrong Shads?" she asked sadly, while cocking her head to one side. He hadn't even blinked, he just stood there, staring at her levelly.

"Rouge, I have to leave you." Shadow's tone was so neutral, so dead, so utterly emotionless, one would have guessed he was a robot.

"Where are you going?" she inquired, while averting her eyes from his unflinching gaze.

"I'm going to hunt down Mephiles." he said, his tone a little kinder.

"I'm coming with you." she insisted, but his scarlet glare soon made her wonder what was really going on.

"I must do this alone. If anything happened to you... I'd kill myself. I started this, and now I'll finish it," Shadow began, his voice raised slightly, "If I don't deal with Mephiles now, then we'll never be free of him." Rouge trembled at the idea of weeks or months without Shadow sleeping by her side.

"Don't leave me alone, let me come with you!" she cried, as tears began to gather at the corner of her eyes.

"I once believed that my only purpose was revenge on those who killed Maria. Then, I thought that all I needed was you, and my life would be complete..." he trailed off, "I was wrong. I have a greater responsibility. I have a duty to protect earth, like I promised Maria."

"Shadow, what are you saying?" tears now streamed freely down her cheeks. Now it was Shadow's turn to look away, as he released her hand.

"I'm probably not coming back. I'll miss you..." Shadow's eyes were down, and his voice was low, "I love you Rouge."

Shadow turned away from her, and she screamed at him frantically. Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Or so it seemed until he reached the door. Then he froze; Rouge was weeping.

"Please don't leave me, I don't know what I'll do without you... you're all I've got." she begged, while pulling lightly on his arm. Shadow turned to face her, their faces mere inches apart. His breath was warm, and his eyes bored into her. He drew closer to her, and whispered in her ear.

"No matter what happens, I'll always love you. Remember that." Shadow sounded saddened beyond words, but his mind was made up. He gently kissed her cheek, and then his lips met hers. He was just as fiery and warm as she remembered, but somehow, this kiss was different. Before, all his kisses had been interlaced with joy.

But in that moment of deep intimacy, they both wept together, a sadness unlike any other tainted the love in his kiss.

"If I can, I will return someday." he breathed, breaking the kiss for only a moment. She lost herself in him, his warmth, his embrace, and she was left standing in he cold when he pulled away. She mouthed words to him, pleading him to sweep her off her feet, into his arms, and tell her it was all a bad dream. He had already turned away.

Before his face was concealed completely by the darkness, Rouge saw a tear stream down his cheek. The ebony hedgehog stood there, his back turned, the patter of the rain all around him.

"I'm sorry Rouge... Goodbye." with no more than these final parting words, Shadow was gone, leaving Rouge standing alone in her open doorway, her nightgown being gradually soaked by the rain. Lightning arced down from the sky, revealing the last traces of the black speed demon as he skated away from her.

The thunder roared overhead, and soon she was soaked to the bone. She didn't care. She only stood there, staring after him, and imagining that he was returning for her. She did not sleep again that night. Before she returned inside, she yelled out one more time into the storm.

"I love you... goodbye."


End file.
